Monday, October 29, 2007

Still adjusting...




I'm still having to adjust the temperature on the incubator about twice a day. Checked the water level. From what I've read, it's better to have less water in the first couple of weeks and add to the amount later on in the last week for hatching. The turner is working well and when I pop by to take a look at the thermometer it's changed positions again and again. It's funny now how I was nervous that it wasn't working. We have eighteen eggs in there right now and we're so excited. The eggs are about half the size of "normal" grocery store eggs and cream colored. Can't wait to see how many hatch. We're hoping for at least a 50% hatch.

Yesterday we had 2 eggs in the morning (pretty exciting!) and today there was only one. We're hoping that Penelope will start laying soon so we can have two egg days all the time. Her comb is just coming in so we're thinking that in a couple of weeks now. The girls were accidentally locked out of their coop this morning around 7:30am and when I came out around 10:45am to let them out for a while there were no eggs. So I opened the eglu door and Sylvia went right in there and when I came back out at 11:45am there was an egg. I was so surprised that she would wait to lay in her usual spot instead of laying out in the run. In some books I've read chickens have been known to lay eggs in the garden if you let them out to roam in the am - so imagine my surprise when she went back in to lay right away. The girls were ravenous this afternoon when I let them out to free range, little chicken maniacs! They did not want to go back in when it came time for me to start dinner.

No comments: